I have planted pickling cucumbers in my garden this year. They are so cute and little! I started them from local heirloom seeds in the spring and they are flourishing now in the summer. We love to snack on pickles all year round. When I have a lot of pickles, I will steam can a batch for food storage. You can see my How to Pickle post here for long term storage. Today I am going to show you an easy recipe for pickles that is not steam canned, but simply fresh pickles stored in the refrigerator. You don’t necessarily have to use pickling cucumbers for this recipe. I used a mixture of regular ones from my garden and the pickling cucumbers from my garden. Just make sure if you use regular ones that they are small in size, mini is best because they are more crunchy. Here’s how to make refrigerator bread and butter pickles.
These pickles will last up to a month in a glass jar when prepared this way.
Step #1: Pick and Wash Cucumbers
Step #2: Slice
I like to slice mine a little thick because as they sit in the salt and the pickling juice, they will lose quite a bit of their moisture. You will need 4-5 cups total. They will reduce in size later. A crinkle cutter might be a good addition here. I was too lazy to bother 🙂
Step #3: Soak and Rinse
Soak the cucumbers in 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Pickling Salt for 90 minutes in a bowl on the counter. Wait. Wait. Wait. Then rinse. Rinse. Rinse. I used a colander and rinsed thoroughly 4 or 5 times under the sink sprayer.
Step #4: Make Brine Recipe in a Saucepan
INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup dried onion, reconstituted (or 1 fresh onion chopped small)
1 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, unpacked
1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar, with the mother
1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp celery seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp minced garlic
Directions for brine: Add brine ingredients into a medium sauce pan and cook over medium heat until boiling and all of the sugar is dissolved. Cool slightly and then pour into a clean, large jar (I used an old gallon pickle jar from the grocery store that had been sanitized). Add in rinsed cucumbers, put the lid on, and let sit in the fridge for 24 hours. Then they are ready to eat!
Easy, huh? My kids love these. I leave them out on the counter for them to snack on all day.
If you have any questions, feel free to post a comment and I will answer it to the best of my ability. Thanks for stopping by!
